(usually Medina in English, Médine in French), residence of the Prophet Muḥammad after the ḥid̲j̲ra and one of the sacred cities of Islam.

Medina is situated in the Ḥid̲j̲āz province of Saʿūdī Arabia in latitude 24°28′ N, longitude 39°36′ E, about 160 km. from the Red Sea and about 350 km. north of Mecca. It has developed from an oasis on relatively level ground between the hill of Uḥud on the north and that of ʿAyr on the south. East and west are lava flows (in Arabic ḥarra [q.v.] or lāba ). There are several wādī s or watercourses which cr…